OBESITY
More people around the world are obese than ever before. It’s a massive issue that is affecting both men and women; young and old; rich and poor. Although obesity is an individual clinical condition, most authorities view it as a serious and growing public health problem.
Obesity is a condition in which the amount of stored fatty tissue of the body exceeds the healthy limits. It is commonly determined in terms of body mass index (BMI). Another method of assessing body weight is to measure circumference of waist or waist-hip circumference ratio. This gives not only an indication of how much fat is stored around the section middle but also in terms of its distribution through waist circumference or waist-hip circumference ratio measurements.
Obesity poses a huge public health problem. A large number of medical conditions have been associated with it. Being overweight increases ones risk of developing many health problems such as Coronary Heart Diseases, Diabetes, High Blood Pressure, Gallstones and some types of Cancer. It also increases the risk of heart attack infertility, stroke, sleep apnea osteoarthritis etc. Excess weight is also responsible for difficulty in breathing, headache, carpal tunnel syndrome, back pain etc. In addition to all these excessive body weight is associated with social stigmatization leading to low self esteem and adjustment problems and depression.
What causes obesity?
A calorie is a unit of energy. We take in energy when we eat and drink, and burn it off in our daily activities. When the amount of calories taken equals the amount we burn off, our body’s weight remains about the same. On the other hand if our calorie intake is mote than what we can burn off , we become obese.
Obesity does run in families, and the tendency to put on weight is greater in some people than in others eating a similar diet. But it is likely that family eating and activity habits are more important causes of obesity.Most researchers have concluded that the combination of an excessive nutrient intake and a sedentary lifestyle are the main cause of obesity.
However, dietary intake in itself is insufficient to explain the phenomenal rise in levels of obesity in much of the industrialized world during recent years. An increasingly sedentary lifestyle also has a significant role to play. Less well established and possibly under investigated life style issues that may influence obesity include (1) insufficient sleep, (2) endocrine disruptors - food substances that interfere with lipid metabolism, (3) decreased variability in ambient temperature, (4) decreased rates of smoking, which suppresses appetite, (5) increased use of medication that leads to weight gain, (6) increased distribution of ethnic and age groups that tend to be heavier, (7) pregnancy at a later age, (8) intrauterine and intergenerational effects, (9) positive natural selection of people with a higher BMI, (10) assortative mating, heavier people tending to form relationships with each other.
Genetics too play a role in increasing body weight. As with many medical conditions, the calorific imbalance that results in obesity is probably the result of a combination of genetic and environmental factors. Polymorphisms in various genes controlling appetite, metabolism, and adipokine release predispose to obesity, but the condition requires availability of sufficient calories, and possibly other factors, to develop.
Certain physical and mental illnesses and particular pharmaceutical substances may lead to obesity. Medical illnesses that increase obesity risk include several rare congenital syndromes like hypothyroidism, Cushing's syndrome, growth hormone deficiency etc. Certain medications (e.g. steroids, atypical antipsychotic, and some fertility medication) may cause weight gain.
Mental illnesses may also increase obesity risk, specifically some eating disorders such as bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder, and compulsive overeating (also known as food addiction).
More recently the role of bacteria colonizing the digestive tract in the development of obesity has become the subject of investigation. Bacteria participate in digestion (especially of fatty acids and polysaccharides), and alterations in the proportion of particular strains of bacteria may explain why certain people are more prone to weight gain than others.
More people around the world are obese than ever before. It’s a massive issue that is affecting both men and women; young and old; rich and poor. Although obesity is an individual clinical condition, most authorities view it as a serious and growing public health problem.
Obesity is a condition in which the amount of stored fatty tissue of the body exceeds the healthy limits. It is commonly determined in terms of body mass index (BMI). Another method of assessing body weight is to measure circumference of waist or waist-hip circumference ratio. This gives not only an indication of how much fat is stored around the section middle but also in terms of its distribution through waist circumference or waist-hip circumference ratio measurements.
Obesity poses a huge public health problem. A large number of medical conditions have been associated with it. Being overweight increases ones risk of developing many health problems such as Coronary Heart Diseases, Diabetes, High Blood Pressure, Gallstones and some types of Cancer. It also increases the risk of heart attack infertility, stroke, sleep apnea osteoarthritis etc. Excess weight is also responsible for difficulty in breathing, headache, carpal tunnel syndrome, back pain etc. In addition to all these excessive body weight is associated with social stigmatization leading to low self esteem and adjustment problems and depression.
What causes obesity?
A calorie is a unit of energy. We take in energy when we eat and drink, and burn it off in our daily activities. When the amount of calories taken equals the amount we burn off, our body’s weight remains about the same. On the other hand if our calorie intake is mote than what we can burn off , we become obese.
Obesity does run in families, and the tendency to put on weight is greater in some people than in others eating a similar diet. But it is likely that family eating and activity habits are more important causes of obesity.Most researchers have concluded that the combination of an excessive nutrient intake and a sedentary lifestyle are the main cause of obesity.
However, dietary intake in itself is insufficient to explain the phenomenal rise in levels of obesity in much of the industrialized world during recent years. An increasingly sedentary lifestyle also has a significant role to play. Less well established and possibly under investigated life style issues that may influence obesity include (1) insufficient sleep, (2) endocrine disruptors - food substances that interfere with lipid metabolism, (3) decreased variability in ambient temperature, (4) decreased rates of smoking, which suppresses appetite, (5) increased use of medication that leads to weight gain, (6) increased distribution of ethnic and age groups that tend to be heavier, (7) pregnancy at a later age, (8) intrauterine and intergenerational effects, (9) positive natural selection of people with a higher BMI, (10) assortative mating, heavier people tending to form relationships with each other.
Genetics too play a role in increasing body weight. As with many medical conditions, the calorific imbalance that results in obesity is probably the result of a combination of genetic and environmental factors. Polymorphisms in various genes controlling appetite, metabolism, and adipokine release predispose to obesity, but the condition requires availability of sufficient calories, and possibly other factors, to develop.
Certain physical and mental illnesses and particular pharmaceutical substances may lead to obesity. Medical illnesses that increase obesity risk include several rare congenital syndromes like hypothyroidism, Cushing's syndrome, growth hormone deficiency etc. Certain medications (e.g. steroids, atypical antipsychotic, and some fertility medication) may cause weight gain.
Mental illnesses may also increase obesity risk, specifically some eating disorders such as bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder, and compulsive overeating (also known as food addiction).
More recently the role of bacteria colonizing the digestive tract in the development of obesity has become the subject of investigation. Bacteria participate in digestion (especially of fatty acids and polysaccharides), and alterations in the proportion of particular strains of bacteria may explain why certain people are more prone to weight gain than others.
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